Matt Kmiecik
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Matt Kmiecik
@mattkmiecik.bsky.social
200 followers 340 following 140 posts
Neuroscientist studying Parkinson's disease | check out my #rstats website: https://mattkmiecik.com/
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Matt Kmiecik @mattkmiecik.bsky.social · Jan 15
R is my favorite programming language! When reflecting on my R journey, I realized that how I name objects has changed over the years, and this change reflects a difference in how I approach my workflows (and some serious laziness in typing). #rstats

Post: mattkmiecik.substack.com/p/creating-o...
mattkmiecik.bsky.social
Maximizing information while minimizing clutter is key to a great figure. In this post, I cover my approach for various figures throughout the years.

Read more: mattkmiecik.substack.com/p/my-favorit...

#rstats #dataviz #science #publishing
My favorite figures (to date)
In my previous post, I discussed my pipeline for making publication-ready figures.
mattkmiecik.substack.com
June 16, 2025 at 3:10 PM
mattkmiecik.bsky.social
ggplot2 is powerful, but not always pretty. 😬

That’s why I use Omnigraffle for final figure touches—cleaner legends, custom labels, and full control over design.

Full workflow here: mattkmiecik.substack.com/p/using-omni...

#rstats #dataviz #omnigraffle #ggplot2
Using Omnigraffle for publication ready figures
In graduate school, I took an advanced statistics course that changed my life.
mattkmiecik.substack.com
June 14, 2025 at 3:10 PM
mattkmiecik.bsky.social
Just dropped a new #rstats Substack post!

It’s about a better way to scale variables in R that won’t break predict() (and keeps your model inputs traceable).

mattkmiecik.substack.com/p/scaling-va...

#Tidyverse #DataAnalysis
Scaling variables in R
A walkthrough of a tip I recently learned
mattkmiecik.substack.com
June 12, 2025 at 3:10 PM
mattkmiecik.bsky.social
Z-scoring in R? There’s a neat way to retain the original mean and SD after using scale(). This makes back-transforming for plots super easy.

Full example: mattkmiecik.substack.com/p/scaling-va...

#rstats #Reproducibility #CodingTips
Scaling variables in R
A walkthrough of a tip I recently learned
mattkmiecik.substack.com
June 10, 2025 at 3:10 PM
mattkmiecik.bsky.social
Scientific writing has trapped me in Word & Google Docs. For personal writing, I needed something better. Ulysses is that something. Clean, simple, and dare I say... fun?

Here’s why I love it:
✍️ mattkmiecik.substack.com/p/i-started-...

#WritingCommunity #TechTools #MacApps #ProductivityHacks
I started this Substack just so that I could use Ulysses
Alright, that might be an exaggeration.
mattkmiecik.substack.com
June 8, 2025 at 3:10 PM
Reposted by Matt Kmiecik
vincentab.bsky.social
🚨 Big milestone for Rdatasets 🚨

The web archive now hosts 3400+ free and documented CSV datasets. Fantastic for teaching and testing!

And {Rdatasets} is a new #RStats 📦 for easy download and search

Web archive: vincentarelbundock.github.io/Rdatasets

R 📦: vincentarelbundock.github.io/Rdatasetspkg
June 6, 2025 at 5:39 PM
mattkmiecik.bsky.social
I used to wrap scale() in as.numeric() and call it a day. Now I know better: drop() preserves attributes and behaves cleanly.

Full walkthrough (with mtcars, lm, ggplot2): mattkmiecik.substack.com/p/scaling-va...

#rstats #DataViz #OpenScience
Scaling variables in R
A walkthrough of a tip I recently learned
mattkmiecik.substack.com
June 6, 2025 at 3:14 PM
Reposted by Matt Kmiecik
mattansb.msbstats.info
Personally I prefer using datawizard::standardize(), and specifically using it *in the formula*.

So
mtcars$hp_z <- scale(mtcars$hp)
mpg ~ hp_z

Becomes
mpg ~ standardize(hp)

This solves both issues you raise in your post.

#rstats @easystats.bsky.social
June 4, 2025 at 7:33 PM
mattkmiecik.bsky.social
Scaling variables in R? scale() is powerful — but its default behavior can mess with predict().

Here’s a clean fix using drop() + how to retain scaling attributes for later.

mattkmiecik.substack.com/p/scaling-va...

#rstats #DataScience #Statistics
Scaling variables in R
A walkthrough of a tip I recently learned
mattkmiecik.substack.com
June 4, 2025 at 3:10 PM
mattkmiecik.bsky.social
This has to be the best #rstats hex sticker I've ever seen
June 3, 2025 at 5:28 AM
mattkmiecik.bsky.social
One of my favorite tricks I’ve learned from ChatGPT: better facet labels in ggplot2.

Check out the latest post: mattkmiecik.substack.com/p/labeling-f...

#rstats #ggplot2 #dataviz
Labeling facets in ggplot2
Who knew such a small setting could make such a big improvement
mattkmiecik.substack.com
May 27, 2025 at 6:23 PM
Reposted by Matt Kmiecik
johnholbein1.bsky.social
May 22, 2025 at 6:55 PM
mattkmiecik.bsky.social
Adding labeller = label_both to your facet calls in ggplot2 can massively improve figure readability! I wrote a quick blogpost with a use case and some examples.

mattkmiecik.substack.com/p/labeling-f...

#rstats #ggplot2 #VisualizationTips #dataviz
Labeling facets in ggplot2
Who knew such a small setting could make such a big improvement
mattkmiecik.substack.com
May 23, 2025 at 3:45 PM
Reposted by Matt Kmiecik
matloff.bsky.social
Most applications in R run pretty quickly. But these days, many R users are faced with huge datasets and/or long-running applications, making parallel computation attractive. 🧵 1/
May 21, 2025 at 2:37 AM
mattkmiecik.bsky.social
Struggling with confusing facet labels in ggplot2? I just shared a quick fix that makes your plots clearer using labeller = label_both.

mattkmiecik.substack.com/p/labeling-f...

#rstats #dataviz #ggplot2 #DataScience
Labeling facets in ggplot2
Who knew such a small setting could make such a big improvement
mattkmiecik.substack.com
May 21, 2025 at 3:10 PM
mattkmiecik.bsky.social
R is full of surprises—even after a decade, I’m still learning simple but powerful tricks. Named vectors are my latest discovery, thanks to ChatGPT!

mattkmiecik.substack.com/p/named-vectors-in-r

#RStats #Learning #ChatGPT #Dataviz
Named vectors in R
A powerful tool for plotting colors
mattkmiecik.substack.com
May 17, 2025 at 3:10 PM
mattkmiecik.bsky.social
I'm looking for literature recommendations on guidance for specifying distributional assumptions in generalized linear/additive models. I've mainly stuck with gaussian and binomial distributions, but am looking to explore other distributions to enhance specification. Thank you! #rstats
May 15, 2025 at 5:50 PM
mattkmiecik.bsky.social
There’s still time to support my fundraiser for Parkinson’s research! Learn more in my new post on the environmental factors behind PD.

mattkmiecik.substack.com/p/parkinsons...

#DonateScience #Parkinsons #Research
Parkinson's Disease 101: Environment and Lifestyle
Learn and donate to a great cause!
mattkmiecik.substack.com
May 15, 2025 at 3:10 PM
Reposted by Matt Kmiecik
brainsupportnet.bsky.social
One Month Away - REGISTER TODAY:

PSP-MSA-CBD Caregiving Symposium, Saturday, June 14, 2025

Plan to join us – either in-person on the Stanford campus or virtually – for a symposium for the PSP, MSA, or CBD communities. Everyone is welcome.

www.brainsupportnetwork.org/2025-0614-ps...
May 14, 2025 at 6:02 PM
mattkmiecik.bsky.social
How does the environment impact Parkinson’s disease penetrance—even in people with genetic mutations? We studied over 80k people to find out.

mattkmiecik.substack.com/p/parkinsons...

#Parkinsons #ScienceCommunication #Epidemiology #LRRK2
Parkinson's Disease 101: Environment and Lifestyle
Learn and donate to a great cause!
mattkmiecik.substack.com
May 13, 2025 at 3:12 PM
mattkmiecik.bsky.social
I shared why I stopped bullet journaling and switched to a digital system. Now, I want to hear from you! What’s your favorite productivity hack? Let’s discuss!

mattkmiecik.substack.com/p/why-i-aban...

#ProductivityTips #StayOrganized #Productivity #Lifehack #BuJo
Why I abandoned bullet journaling
Don't underestimate the power of a good to-do list
mattkmiecik.substack.com
May 11, 2025 at 3:10 PM
mattkmiecik.bsky.social
New post! Toxins, like pesticides, and traumatic brain injuries play a bigger role in Parkinson’s disease than many realize.

Read more about our findings here: mattkmiecik.substack.com/p/parkinsons...

#Neurodegeneration #PublicHealth #ParkinsonsAwareness #Parkinsons
Parkinson's Disease 101: Environment and Lifestyle
Learn and donate to a great cause!
mattkmiecik.substack.com
May 9, 2025 at 3:10 PM
mattkmiecik.bsky.social
Genetics is just one piece of the puzzle. My latest post breaks down how lifestyle and environmental exposures influence Parkinson’s risk.

mattkmiecik.substack.com/p/parkinsons...

#Parkinsons #Neuroscience #BrainHealth
Parkinson's Disease 101: Environment and Lifestyle
Learn and donate to a great cause!
mattkmiecik.substack.com
May 7, 2025 at 3:10 PM
mattkmiecik.bsky.social
My #tidyverse brain thought this was an #rstats post at first 😆
purrinink.bsky.social purr.in.ink @purrinink.bsky.social · May 4
A little purr for you from the galaxy far, far away. (Sound on) 🐈‍⬛🤍 #cat #purr #maythe4thbewithyou
May 5, 2025 at 2:45 AM
Reposted by Matt Kmiecik
purrinink.bsky.social
A little purr for you from the galaxy far, far away. (Sound on) 🐈‍⬛🤍 #cat #purr #maythe4thbewithyou
May 4, 2025 at 12:10 PM